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Irresistible	By : kamorgana Category: Rurouni Kenshin > General Views: 5018 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Disclaimer: standard disclaimers apply. RK belongs to Watsuki, but the ideas, text and OCs are mine.
Irresistible

Chapter 2: Clear and Present Danger

It was the third day of the trip, and everything was running smoothly. It didn�t improve Saitoh�s mood.

The sun was setting, and they had arrived at the last camp for the night. Saitoh didn�t like the idea very much, and they had requisitioned ryokans the days before, but they had no choice. Kondo had decided that the speed was more important than the settings, and that stopping in the woods of Otsu was a better option than an earlier halt, which would have wasted time and prolonged the trip for another night. Well, it hadn�t been his decision to make, and Saitoh looked at the bright side. After he had to stand them all day long, he enjoyed watching these useless, noisy �ladies� having to experience some lack of comfort. Too bad that the little witch was not complaining, it would have made it even more pleasant.

After delegating the tasks, positioning his men, under the supervision of Okita, around the portion of river that the ladies would use to bath, he took a reluctant Harada with him for the wood chore. And he thought for the hundredth time in 3 days, that all this was completely ridiculous.

He had had no choice but to accept this mission, yet he had been reluctant from the start. He had accompanied Kondo, with Okita and Harada, to investigate the links between the Ishinshishi spreading terror in Kyoto, and several terrorist attempts in Aizu, their biggest political support, the Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori�s land. Most of the agitators were coming from Choshu and Satsuma, the two principal feudal fiefs of Kyushu. The incidents in Aizu had been important enough to hope that some of the leaders had gone to Aizu. The Shinsengumi might have a chance to cut off the so-called revolutionary�s heads, then. Figuratively, and literally.

After one week, and few results, Kondo had decided suddenly that Saitoh and the others would leave two days earlier than decided, and escort these girls to Kyoto, taking the *land* road. The original intention was that they went by boat, with Kondo, and some guards from their fathers� private armies. That the latter had to stay to protect the estates, considering the terrorist menace, Saitoh would have understood. But renouncing to that agreed trip would have been a better idea. He had a little opinion on why Kondo, who had then immediately returned to the capital, had proposed this solution: to dispose well the officials towards the Shinsengumi, winning more political support for the Bakufu�.and more money for their organization.

Nevertheless, the trip had been hastily prepared, ill-conceived, and if Saitoh had been one of the girls� fathers, he would never have agreed on such a small number of men to protect them. Kondo had taken the decision with the blessing of Matsudaira, and the Daimyo had probably hidden the nature of the escort from them. It certainly had been facilitated by the fact that the officials of Matsudaira�s first circle, fathers of the ladies, were all with him in Osaka at the moment, and didn�t have the occasion to get nosy. Not that Saitoh doubted about the ability of the Shinsengumi troops to win over any opponents. He just didn�t trust the little bunch of idiots to wait calmly in case of attack, but rather to fly away like the brainless birds they were, and complicating their task.

This idea of letting them go to Kyoto was stupid, and dangerous.

It had been even worse than he had thought. After Kondo had left, he had spent 24 hours ruminating his frustration, growing bitter because all the traitors they had gotten their hands on had only confirmed that the master minds of the Ishin were in Kyoto, and imagining the awful chore that would be taking care of a group of spoiled ladies. The first two hours of travel had made his worst nightmares pale in comparison. His intervention had solved the problem, but not his frustration, and the cause had a name. Takagi Tokio.

He had let the little witch not only lecture him, but manipulate him. Nobody had ever dared to address him in this way. He was furious at himself, even more than at her. He was not receptive to provocation when fighting: it was an easy trick to break the concentration of the adversary. Manipulation and mental destabilization were his favorite weapons, and it made her little victory that much more unnerving. In more common situations, if he was feeling offended, which happened usually after he had consumed a reasonable amount of alcohol, he would draw his sword, washed his honor in blood, period. He couldn�t do that here, hence his persisting foul mood.

He had to admit that she had behaved perfectly since then. She was silent, polite and distant. She was taking care of the sick girl, whose condition was getting neither worse nor better, and of the permanent whining of the others. In normal circumstances, he would have appreciated, and even think that after all, there was such a thing as a sensible female. But each time that she was in his field of view, he remembered her careless remark. He had the definite feeling that she did, too, and that she enjoyed it, surprising sometimes that daring light again in her eyes.

Harada�s voice took him out of his thoughts. Knowing what would be the subject of the moron�s verbal diarrhea, he braced himself.

Tomorrow, he would be in Kyoto, and all would go back to normal.

***

Tomorrow, at last, she would be in Kyoto.

Three long months since Tokio had been there, and it seemed an eternity. Because of his duties, her father was going to the imperial capital quite a lot, and now that her brother was old enough, she almost always managed to go with him. Yet, the situation in Aizu had demanded that he stayed there for a while.

Tokio sighed as she was trying to focus her mind on what was waiting for her there. She felt restless, impatient, and the uninterrupted babbling of the others and their maids was getting on her nerves. Not wanting to have somebody on her back all the time, she had taken only one maid with her, and asked Aiko if her servants could take care of her belongings during the trip. Her father had accepted, of course, mostly because they were supposed to meet before she arrived in Kyoto, yet it wasn�t her fault if they didn�t go to Osaka finally. The plan had changed. She wondered why it had, and so suddenly. Kondo-sama would certainly not choose a riskier option, as taking the land road, if not for a good reason. She had been unable to discover it, which meant that it was more than serious business.

As Torimi let out a long squeal, which was her way of laughing, Tokio gritted her teeth. She had hoped that she could relax; still there wasn�t a chance for that as long as she stuck to the others.

As nobody paid attention to her, she grabbed her folded yukata, placing it on top of her head. She knew that there were guards, all around the place they bathed. That could seem careless to let them in the river, yet now that they were afraid of an eventual attack, Saitoh was surely as aware as she was that none of the girls would even dare to take one step out of their reach. The river was also too wide for an attacker to come from the other side, before they could escape and their bodyguards intervene.

That made a getaway difficult for her. But swimming, she could get out of sight and have a little privacy, and if it were just for a while, nobody would notice. Reiko and Miyu, the only ones who were close to her, were busy trying to cheer Aiko up, and her maid, Yuka, was one of the servants preparing the meal tonight.

She hesitated. That wasn�t very smart to get away. On the other hand�.She smiled naughtily, quite enjoying the idea of fooling this insensitive, self-satisfied idiot out of his knowledge. It would be so funny to consider his superior attitude, being conscious that she had been tricking him. Her little weakness won over her cautiousness, and the cringing giggles of her companions as they were commenting the good looks of Captain Harada, and the gentleness of Captain Okita, erased her last good resolutions. Saitoh had been very serious when he had threatened them, and she was exhausted after trying to avoid any incident during the last three days. She didn�t really like most of the girls, they had nothing in common, but if anything went wrong, Kondo-sama would be held responsible.

Just one day to go, yet she needed to rest to be able to face this, and her stay at the Daimyo�s court, just after. It wasn�t a very pleasant perspective, considering that she hated the court, and it tainted her enthusiasm of going to the capital�.but she had learnt how to stand it. She was going to play her little games again. She had to be in shape.

Finally, still unnoticed, she swam farther down the river, until she couldn�t hear her companions anymore, placing her yukata on the grass of the riverside. She then enjoyed the freshness of the river, floating on her back, the water shutting any noise away, watching the stars shining in the now dark sky, and the trees extending their branches above her face. At last serene, she heaved a happy little breath of relief. Regretfully, she finally stood up, the noises of the woods reaching her ears again.

And some were not natural.

What was that? She went out of the river, wrapping her yukata around her, and followed the sounds with infinite precaution, holding her breath when she understood the cause of it.

***

�Get this part to the camp, I�ll take care of the rest,� Saitoh said curtly to Harada, who complied, grumbling about manners. If his hands weren�t full of logs, and if he didn�t want to go back to the camp in case the beautiful Takagi-san had finished bathing, he would have liked to punch some politeness into Mr Always-pissed-off.

After he left, Saitoh focused his energy on his task, releasing his frustration. It was more sensible than provoking Harada, anyway. It was not that Saitoh really disliked the guy, even if he was too hot-tempered to be reliable, but he couldn�t stand his comments about the little witch: �Her eyes, blah, blah, and her lips, blah, blah��, as if Saitoh was blind and didn�t notice that. Well, it was typical of Harada moronlikes to fall for impossible females, and one day he would be bossed by one of them, but Saitoh didn�t want to know about it. Above all, he didn�t want to be reminded of that one.

He concentrated on the moves of his arms, on splitting the logs apart, and the neat, curt sound of the iron crushing the wood, filling the quasi-silence of the nature at night.

Until the noises of branches cracking disturbed it.

He stopped, listening around. Paces in the wood, somebody was running. The paces grew closer, coming in his direction. His sword in his left hand, he hid behind a tree. Feeling a human presence near him, he tensed, ready to get the attacker.

And as the runner passed by, he could grab him, pin him to the tree, his sword resting threateningly on the neck of�What the hell?

All the action didn�t take a quarter of seconds, and he realized afterwards that it was not an enemy but Takagi Tokio. He froze. Her eyes were wide with astonishment, her short breath coming quickly out of her lips parted in surprise, and in a defensive gesture, her hands were pulling off his chest. He eased his grab on her neck, pulling his sword down, yet he didn�t release her totally.

Tokio was unable to move, even after she overcame her shock of being handed like this. She had had a moment of panic, but when she had recognized him�. She had something to tell, but she had forgotten it. She knew she should be afraid but she couldn�t, either. Saitoh�s face was inches from her, the lean features stressed by the play of the night�s lights and shadows, his eyes almost glittering in the dark, mesmerizing her. She found herself overwhelmed by the wild power emanating from him.

�What are you doing here?� he snapped, retrieving some�.humanity.

And she remembered.

�A group of soldiers� Down the river� They are here for us, they said that�.�

He put a finger on her lips. �How many?�

�I counted ten.�

�Show me the way,� he said, finally letting her go.

She felt strangely deprived of strength, until he grabbed her elbow so that she could lead him silently there.

She took him to the place where she had surprised them, and where she had been hiding before, in the middle of big bushes, trees and rocks. He observed the group, counting nine of them. Even if he had wanted to, he wouldn�t have the time to call the others. They were about to launch their attack. But first�

He tugged on her arm roughly, so that she would kneel, and ordered in a low hiss: �I can deal with them. Don�t try to go back alone, or to show up until I call you, take absolutely no initiative, is that clear?�

She nodded. He observed her a second, wanting to be sure that she wouldn�t be a problem. No. She was not shaking, not panicking. Her mistake and her dilated pupils were the only sign of her tension. Good. He could go, and focus entirely on his opponents.

Abruptly, he emerged out of the bushes, and defied the men, excited anticipation of the fight running down his veins.

Tokio couldn�t help to watch, staying hidden carefully. Her curiosity was too strong. She had never seen a real battle, only having memories of trainings, when she was a little girl. It was fascinating. She could feel Saitoh�s bloodlust, his ruthlessness. He seemed to have changed into a wild animal again, into a pitiless predator. He looked like a wolf. The scene had something surreal. Swords clashing, blood flowing, moonlight shining on the blades briefly, cries of pain muffled by death. Saitoh�s presence was dominating the whole scene, this energy she had felt in him earlier filling the space around.

The others didn�t stand a chance, she thought, correctly interpreting his arrogant, cruel smile. He got rid of 8 of them so fast, so easily, and there was only one left now. One? No, it couldn�t be� she was sure that they were ten!

Only then, she noticed the moves in the bushes, at her right, just in front of her�A man was there, with something shining in his right hand.

***

Saitoh finished the last one, sending him limp at the bottom of a tree, not inflecting a lethal wound, this time. He needed him to survive a while. He had questions.

He turned around swiftly, feeling a presence behind him, just before he heard a cry of pain coming from there, and saw a man rolling out of the bushes, his head bloody, a kunai grasped in his hand. The bastard wanted to stab him in the back. 9 adversaries. She had said ten.

Moron.

He blamed himself for assuming that the girl had made a mistake. He should have asked her if she was sure. His carelessness could have cost him a nasty injury. The girl? Oh, shit. The man was near the place where she was hiding�

Instead of seeing Harada or another getting from behind the tree, as he expected, she showed up. She was very pale, carrying a big stone in her hands�trembling hands. She let it down, taking long, deep breaths. Re-sheathing his katana, he walked to her. She was in shock�.was she? She gazed at him, and her face was perfectly composed.

�Did I kill him?� she eventually asked, quietly.

After staring at her for a second, surprised at her self-control, he searched for a pulse, and shook his head.

�He�s still alive. He should even regain consciousness soon.�

Looking around, he saw some ropes. Wondering if their purpose was kidnapping, he went to get some and kneeled to tie her �victim�. Her voice raised again, her tone cold and controlled.

�I�m sorry. I should have.�

He looked up at her. Her usually shiny gray eyes were tarnished and hard as steel.

�Takagi-san?�

She bit her lip, mortified that she couldn�t control her anger. A lady never showed her real feelings. Yet, how could a man lack this much of honor? That infuriated her to the point that she was unable to hide it. She might not be a samurai, but the men of her family were, and she knew that death should punish this kind of deviant, vile attitudes.

He stood up, gazing at her intently, and smirked. She had some nerves, definitely. And she had just been useful to him. He decided to reward her sensible attitude with soothing words.

�I needed one alive anyway. Moreover, if I assume correctly that it is your first attempt at murder, it�s not that bad.�

His remark caused her usual bemused smile back on her lips. �It is my first try, indeed. Do you think I can get good at it?�

Against his will, his smirk widened: �Her ladyship�s hobbies are ikebana and manslaughter��

She had a little laugh, as proper lifting one hand to hide it. He saw her wince. He grabbed her wrist before she could prevent him to. It was bloody. He first thought it was the man�s blood, but cursed inwardly when he noticed a long cut on her palm. He glanced at the stone she had used, which had many sharp angles. She had obviously made up for her lack of physical strength by leaning on it with her whole weight, hurting her hand in the process.

And a wave of cold anger swept through him. She might have some nerves, but she had put herself in trouble. He should have a word with her, and not sympathize. What the hell was happening to him?

�What were you doing here?� he demanded severely.

She blinked at him, surprised at his suddenly hostile tone. Her reaction infuriated him more.

�You were supposed to bathe with the others. We are several yards away from there. What were you doing here?� he repeated.

�Takagi-san? Are you here?�

Okita�s voice. He released her hand, and she took one step in front of him, just before the other captain appeared from out of the woods. He looked at Tokio, relief appearing on his round face.

�Here you are!� he began, scolding, then lifted both his brows in surprise as he spotted his friend.

�Did they realize that I was not there?� her voice was concerned.

�They are still bathing. Your friend Matsumori-san only has finished and was wondering where you were gone.� No chaperone in view. What was Saitoh thinking? Were they�.

He forgot his stupid idea the next second, noticing his friend�s scowl and the girl�s bloody hand. Too bad, that would have been the gossip of the year. He then hoped that Saitoh had not been the one wounding her.

His relief at finding the girl had had his attention focused on the couple, yet as Saitoh indicated to him silently, by a swift move of the chin, to look behind him, Okita understood the situation. His pleasant demeanor replaced by a darker expression, he exchanged a meaningful glance with his fellow captain, before staring inquiringly at Tokio.

�Takagi-san has surprised our aggressors. This one is her doing, that�s how she got hurt,� added Saitoh, ironically, showing him the tied-up man.

Okita lifted both his brows again, temporarily silent with puzzlement, before examining the situation practically.

�Should we prepare to leave?�

�Running away in the dark would be idiotic. We have to clear things first. I�m going back to the camp, and I�ll send you Terada and Tanaka. I�ll get Harada to take care of the girls. We have to be discreet. I don�t want the stupid twits to go hysterical. It�s going to be dinner time, he�ll see to that they are gathered around the fire, and that none of them gets away from it,� he finished, with a warning, icy glance at the girl. �And, Takagi-san, you�ll answer to my questions on the way back.�

Noticing in Tokio�s expressive eyes outrage, for a reason that he didn�t get, and the same light that she had a few days ago, when she had provoked Saitoh, Okita tried to propose an alternative.

�We have to treat her injury, I could�.�

Saitoh took some wrapping bandage from his haori, and threw it to the girl.

�Done.�

�I�d like to hear her explanations too, Saitoh-kun,� insisted Okita, with a boyish smile, getting some water from the attackers� packages, and washing Tokio�s hand. He couldn�t let these two going alone while Saitoh was in this state, and that she seemed ready to provoke him again.

Saitoh looked disapprovingly at him, then shrugged, and lit a cigarette, leaning on a tree.

�Very well. Let�s begin. First of all, why weren�t you with the others?�

Tokio didn�t answer to him directly, but addressed Okita with a charming smile, and told him how she had tumbled upon the men.

�They were so absorbed that they didn�t notice me. So I thought that they should be stopped before they could execute their strategy, and I ran in the direction of the camp as fast as I could. You know what happened next�� she finished for Saitoh.

Okita gave a look to the third captain. Yes, the girl had been foolish to separate from the group, but her early warning had probably avoided some casualties. And she had taken care of one. He wondered in which circumstances, yet Saitoh�s expression told clearly that he wouldn�t explain. Nevertheless, her carelessness had finally changed the turn of events for the better.

�I think that our guest�s nap is over.� Saitoh tossed his cigarette away, his stance indicating to his friend that he had gotten the silent message.

Okita turned around and saw the man stirring. He looked confused a moment, but when his eyes set on Tokio, they glittered with hate.

He hissed: �You, little bitch��before he choked as Okita send him rolling on the ground with a kick in the stomach.

�There is a lady here, so watch your mouth,� he warned, with another bright smile to the girl. She was unmoved, only looking at the man like at a disgusting insect.

�Takagi-san, I�m accompanying you to the camp,� Saitoh said dryly.

The wolfish eyes had told Okita that any intervention was hopeless, this time, so he just watched them go, hoping that the girl would be sensible and that Saitoh would content himself with a scolding.

***

Tokio was upset. Saitoh was dragging her back to the camp, his hand firmly grapping her arm. And she let him. She wasn�t able to protest, when she should order him not to touch her. He had some kind of power over her, and it was so disturbing. When she had seen the men preparing the attack, she had controlled her reactions, acting sensibly, as always. Until she had been face to face with him, and she had lost completely the control of the situation.

She had forgotten what she knew about him. His presence, his authority, the way he had fought, she didn�t know why, but her mind had gone blank. She had even helped him. Her reaction had been instinctive, probably because she had always heard how dishonorable it was to stab an adversary in the back. Yes, that was that.

But she couldn�t explain why she had been so familiar with him, when she had always promised herself that she would treat men like him with the only thing that they deserved: cold despise, and subtle verbal attacks when she could. She had been unable to: the way he had looked at her, with appreciation, and his smile, well, not really a smile, or in an arrogant way, had even made her like him, for a second. She had felt�.thankful. She had been like hypnotized by his presence. How come? Was that this �ki� thing that she remembered her grandfather talking about? The way fighters used their inner strength to impress, and weaken the determination of their adversaries? Anyway�.

�How come he saw you?�

She leaped with surprise at his snarling at her. His features were sharpened with cold anger, and he took a hard tug on her arm when she pretended to ignore him, the amber eyes darting into hers. He looked dangerous. He was dangerous. He was angry, and they were alone. Yet she was not afraid the least, just�.fascinated.

Her reaction turned to inner furor when she felt compelled to answer him. She couldn�t help it. But she would keep her cool, this time. He didn�t deserve her anger. Despise, only. So she talked, detachedly, as if the topic of conversation was the weather.

�When I figured out what to do, and was standing behind him with the stone, he was going to throw the kunai. I needed to distract him a second, so I called him and he was so surprised to see me that I was able to��

�He�s a killer, you idiot! What if he didn�t react the way you thought?�

His voice was a low, dangerous rasp.

She answered quietly, her tone superior: �But he did.�

People always reacted the way she thought.

He blatantly contained himself, but his eyes were as sharp as his tone, when he caught her wounded hand in his, lifted it to her face, and said coldly, as she winced: �It could have been worse. What, too, if they had noticed you in the first place? When you were bathing alone? Or when you spied on them?�

She blinked, then retorted, using her sweetest voice: �Or when I was hiding and that the last man came? I was really lucky that he didn�t find me first. He was less than one meter in front of me. The closest that I�ve been to danger, because YOU have been too arrogant to even think�.�

She let out a cry of pain when, tightening his hold on her wrist, he twisted her arm behind her back, and grabbed the base of her neck in a deadly grip with his other hand. Hurting his pride had not been a good idea, but after all, not even being thanked for her intervention, she got scolded basically because she saved him, which was a little too much. She was probably more in danger now than when they had been almost in the same situation a few minutes ago. He had only mistaken her for an enemy, then. Now he wanted to hurt her, she could feel it. Her heart was beating madly�not with fear, though.

Saitoh was trying to control the rage inside him. How dared she? He had been too careless with her, letting her play with his nerves and getting away with it. How could he have thought for a while that she was sensible or brave? She was a feisty, manipulative, self-confident little witch.

While his mind repeated endlessly that she was under his protection, his pride demanded that she were taught a lesson. He wanted to see fear in her eyes. He wanted her to be aware that HE was no toy for a spoilt girl who probably never in her whole life got the spanking she deserved. He wanted to crush her in his arms and kiss her until she was breathless and�His mind snapped. WHAT was that?

He was so surprised at his ridiculous thoughts that his overwhelming anger vanished. He stared again into her eyes, seeing she expected him to react violently. Not that it made her afraid of him: there was not a hint of that in the silver pools. Well, at least she got that there were limits to his patience. He released her except for her wrist, satisfied with her looking totally confused.

�Don�t ever talk to me in that way again. Understood?� he warned her icily.

She nodded.

�And don�t ever dare to disobey my orders. I am, as you cleverly pointed, responsible for your well-being. Hence, so is the entire Shinsengumi. Under my protection or not, I will not let your foolish initiatives jeopardize our reputation.�

Tokio paled. He was right. If something had happened to her, what would Kondo-sama say to her father? She had known that going away was silly, and yet, she had done it. It hadn�t seemed that dangerous, then. The amber eyes were looking at her, imperative. She felt suddenly ashamed of herself.

�You�re right. I didn�t mean to take risks. I really didn�t,� she said finally.

She was gazing straight into his eyes, her voice and her attitude sincere. She was apologizing, but not out of fear. He felt his determination soften, curiously. He understood how she had ended up that spoiled: she was extremely good at her game. He had to stay distant. She had to learn.

�Well,� he stated coldly, and walked again.

�Saitoh-san?� she asked cautiously, following him.

�Yes?�

�I�m sorry for what I said, I was only angry. And I�m sorry for going away like I did. It was very childish of me.�

God this woman was the devil. Her tone was soft and again, he realized that she meant what she said. He didn�t answer, though. He had been too indulgent towards her so far.

His cold silence was growing intolerable to Tokio. She knew she had been wrong, but she hadn�t *meant* it. She had apologized. Why was he mad at her? Nobody ever stayed mad at her. When she was presenting excuses sincerely, she was supposed to be forgiven, wasn�t she?

�I said that I was sorry,� she insisted.

�I�m not deaf.�

She was about to try to convince him again, when she froze, realizing what she was doing. She was trying to get the approval of a man who had no convictions. Why did she care? She was furious at herself, for being that ridiculous, and at him, for managing to twist her perspective with his intimidation methods.

�And I�m still waiting for a thank you,� she pointed, haughtily, feeling the need to spit the bitter taste filling her mouth, like venom. That would rectify the situation.

Noticing that she was unnerved, he just gave her an arrogant look. The camp, occupied only by the few maids preparing dinner, was in their field of view.

�I need to talk to my men. Not a word about this. Or you�ll be in deep trouble, explaining your escapade to your father,� he added, ironically.

As she didn�t seem decided to move, and was smiling superiorly at him, he asked sternly: �What are you waiting for?�

�For you to release my hand. If we are seen like this, I�m afraid that you�ll be in deeper trouble than me, explaining this to my father,� she answered, her sweet tone not hiding her mockery.

He realized that he was still holding her wrist.

She flicked her arm away from his grasp, quite satisfied to have reduced the insufferable man to silence. That made up for her previous dumbness. She walked outside the woods, smiling as Aiko called her, obviously relieved to see her, and thought quickly about a lie to explain her hand. Saitoh had obviously no intention to talk about the attack, and she could only agree. She wanted to sleep tonight, not to soothe the nerves of some hysterics.

***

One hour later, they all sat around the small fireplace for dinner, at a little distance as the temperature was still high, even at night, and the atmosphere was no different than the other days. Maids busy with bringing plates and bowls, food and tea, coming and going incessantly between their ladies and the bigger fire, where the meal had been prepared, the busy conversations, the strange mix of polite decorum and casual surroundings. In appearance, thought Saitoh. Something had changed, though all the people involved had enough experience of concealing their state of mind to let the others guess it.

Only the captains were to eat with the ladies, the other soldiers guarded the camp, and with double the care since they had been warned of the attack. The girls were still babbling. Saitoh hoped everyday that they would at least shut up when they slept, considering as a miracle that they had so far. They were so absorbed by their chatting that they had almost forgotten the captains� presence from the second day on, Harada and Okita being easy-going, and himself pretending not to pay attention to them. Only Takagi Tokio was quiet, answering with a smile when she was asked a question.

She was perfectly ladylike. Except that he knew now, that it was only a mask she was wearing. Saitoh saw her lying without blinking when two other ladies asked about her hand. She didn�t let any nervousness concerning the previous events appear, either, yet each time that their gazes met, he could see a flicker of coldness, the steely shade of her gray orbs more evident as the flames of the fire were softening her delicate doll features and creamy skin. There was definitely more about her than met the eyes. How many women would have reacted like she had? Her attempt had been clumsy, and her wounded hand was there to show it. Yet, she hadn�t been the least afraid, not showing any of the usual reaction to the first vision of a fight or to death, behaving afterwards naturally. It could be that she had been under the shock, yet his instinct told him otherwise. He knew that ladies weren�t supposed to show their emotions, but this was definitely an occasion she shouldn�t be used to. She was a feisty witch, a spoiled brat, in serious need of authority, yet there was something about her that he couldn�t place.

He reported his attention to the whole group. His mind, used to observation, had now integrated the relations between them. Sitting on *her* left were two of the youngest, Takamura Reiko and Kojima Miyu, 15 and 16 years old, who he guessed could be called �sweet� or �cute�, at least according to Harada. As far as he was concerned, they weren�t as noisy as the others, period. He had the feeling that Takagi Tokio�s smile was genuine only when directed to them. They were currently shyly conversing with Okita, who answered gently to their questions. Saitoh admired once more the aptitude of his sempai to hide his real nature. If they had any idea of what Okita was truly like, they wouldn�t even think of talking to him.

The girl who had been sick, Matsumori Aiko, was barely eating, and always sitting almost on the lap of the gray-eyed girl, who was pressing her hand from time to time, especially when the one in the flashy kimono, Niwada Torimi, was addressing a � subtly, but unmistakably mean- remark to her. This one was loud, and trying to get the attention of the group by never-ending stories about her soon-to-be wedding. The guy must be a fool to have this one, mused Saitoh. There was worse, still. She had a satellite, Kawashita Kana, who was turning to her whenever she talked, and when she did it, it was never but to stress the other one�s opinion. Saitoh couldn�t stand people who had no temper. That could be said also of the four other girls, on a less aggravating level. He wouldn�t be able to guess who was who, if not for the color of their kimono. He arched a brow when the noisy harpy began to include Harada in the conversation, openly flirtatious. He ignored the pleading look that the 10th captain sent him, quite enjoying his discomfort. That distracted his mind a moment from his interrogations about the little witch, and his preoccupations about the aborted attack.

The interrogation hadn�t taken long. The survivors had spat everything in less than 20 minutes. When they started to confess their sins as boys, showing that there was nothing more to squeeze from them, Saitoh had put an end to their miserable lives.

The good news was that, to the men�s knowledge at least, no other offensive was planned.

The rest of the confession was more of a problem. Saitoh had known it at the moment when Okita had shown him a bloody paper he had found on one of the attackers. It was a list with the name of 6 girls, Takagi Tokio�s on the top of it, just below a sign that had been the subject of his obsessions before he had gone to Aizu.

The Choshu clan�s code sign whose meaning was �kill�.

The man and his companions were ronins who had become thugs, with connections to the Ishinshishi. They weren�t from Kyoto, but from Otsu, which explained why they had been foolish enough to attack some Shinsengumi. Saitoh was aware that the fame of the organization wasn�t developed enough outside Kyoto, to prevent this kind of attempts, reason why he had thought that taking the land road was idiotic.

But the man from the Choshu clan who had hired them was from Kyoto, according to his prisoners. He had asked to kill 6 girls, but to �only� kidnap the others. And he had also known where their itinerary would lead them.

These last points were extremely odd. Though the reason of the very last one was easy.

Whatever. The Ishinshishi were involved. Saitoh hadn�t expected a name for the hirer, but he had obtained a good description. Once back in Kyoto, he could start to look for him.

He could go after the Choshu clan again. He would fulfill his duty, and crush them.

TBC�.

Author�s notes:
A ryokan is a Japanese traditional inn.

It still has very unrealistic elements, and I know that this attack seems very contrived, though I will have an explanation for this, eventually (^-^). I will use historical elements and that might give an impression of clich� at first, but in the end, I twist them, and will hopefully end up with something more original. The next chapter should answer to part of the questions left hanging here.

I have the definite feeling that Saitoh appeared way more harmless than I intended, in the first chapter�.my fault, because of the light tone and my lack of �practicing� the character. This is a prequel to Secret Gardens, but Saitoh and Tokio are different here, they are younger, and the Bakumatsu isn�t Meji. They can�t have the same relation when they meet and after 10 years of marriage. Tokio isn�t easy to write, she is a teenager (I have to use my memory here), which explains partly her mix of childish and mature reactions. Other elements, like the contrast between her upbringing as a lady and her feisty temper, will explain this. It should get clearer later (^-^).

This isn�t love at first sight, either. Attraction, yes. It�s a romance, but I don�t think that Saitoh would give in very easily�.though Tokio might be even more reluctant. She doesn�t have a very good opinion of him, as you see. Misunderstandings and verbal fights on the way (^-^).

My deepest gratitude to Firuze, L.Sith, and Mary-Ann, for their comments, suggestions and support. Correcting and perfecting an already written story is extremely difficult, and your opinions were priceless to insecure little me!!! (^-^)

Next chapter: Tokio reveals more of her not so sweet personality, Kondo explains the reasons behind the trip, Okita confides in Saitoh, and madness lurks in the shadows of the Daimyo�s court.
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Irresistible